Traders Sell Shares of Anthem (ANTM) on Strength (ANTM)

Traders sold shares of Anthem Inc (NYSE:ANTM) on strength during trading hours on Monday. $44.39 million flowed into the stock on the tick-up and $114.90 million flowed out of the stock on the tick-down, for a money net flow of $70.51 million out of the stock. Of all stocks tracked, Anthem had the 23rd highest net out-flow for the day. Anthem traded up $2.96 for the day and closed at $235.02

ANTM has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. B. Riley restated a “buy” rating on shares of Anthem in a research report on Wednesday, December 6th. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “buy” rating on shares of Anthem in a research report on Thursday, January 4th. Credit Suisse Group initiated coverage on Anthem in a research report on Thursday, November 2nd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $234.00 price target for the company. ValuEngine upgraded Anthem from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Sunday, December 31st. Finally, Bank of America raised their price target on Anthem from $249.00 to $254.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 17th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Anthem has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $230.80.

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The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 1.51 and a current ratio of 1.55. The firm has a market capitalization of $60,340.00, a P/E ratio of 16.37, a P/E/G ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 0.83.

Anthem (NYSE:ANTM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 31st. The company reported $1.29 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.25 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $22.45 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.17 billion. Anthem had a return on equity of 12.29% and a net margin of 4.27%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.76 earnings per share. equities research analysts expect that Anthem Inc will post 15.09 EPS for the current year.

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 23rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 9th will be paid a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.28%. This is a positive change from Anthem’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 8th. Anthem’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 19.50%.

Anthem announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Thursday, December 7th that allows the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to purchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

In other Anthem news, EVP Gloria M. Mccarthy sold 14,429 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $229.68, for a total value of $3,314,052.72. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 30,667 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,043,596.56. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Joseph Swedish sold 64,403 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $244.37, for a total value of $15,738,161.11. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 84,346 shares in the company, valued at $20,611,632.02. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 167,457 shares of company stock worth $39,862,398. 0.36% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of ANTM. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in Anthem by 10.9% in the 2nd quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 7,509 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,413,000 after buying an additional 735 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. purchased a new position in shares of Anthem in the 3rd quarter worth about $101,758,000. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. raised its holdings in shares of Anthem by 9.8% in the 3rd quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 492,015 shares of the company’s stock worth $93,421,000 after purchasing an additional 43,846 shares during the period. Rockefeller Financial Services Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Anthem by 92.0% in the 3rd quarter. Rockefeller Financial Services Inc. now owns 54,995 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,443,000 after purchasing an additional 26,355 shares during the period. Finally, Farmers & Merchants Trust Co of Chambersburg PA raised its holdings in shares of Anthem by 10.0% in the 3rd quarter. Farmers & Merchants Trust Co of Chambersburg PA now owns 8,214 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,560,000 after purchasing an additional 750 shares during the period. 85.30% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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About Anthem

Anthem, Inc is a health benefits company. The Company operates through three segments: Commercial and Specialty Business, Government Business and Other. It offers a spectrum of network-based managed care plans to large and small employer, individual, Medicaid and Medicare markets. Its managed care plans include preferred provider organizations; health maintenance organizations; point-of-service plans; indemnity plans and other hybrid plans, including consumer-driven health plans; and hospital only and limited benefit products.